JASA Policy on Contributions

JASA Policy on Contributions

The mission of the Jewish Association for Services for the Aged (JASA) is to sustain and enrich the lives of the aging in the New York metropolitan area so that they can remain in the community, with dignity and autonomy.

To achieve our mission JASA engages diverse donors including individuals, corporations, foundations, estates, and government funders. We value and encourage these partnerships.

Overview

To guide our solicitation and acceptance of gifts and grants, JASA has adopted the following Policy on Contributions Policy (the “Policy”):

JASA will not accept contributions that compromise our mission, or that create a real or perceived conflict of interest between ourselves and the donor.

JASA values our relationships with all our donors. We see our donors’ expertise, perspective, partnership, and intellectual inputs as resources that strengthen our work as an agency and the fulfillment of our mission. However, JASA’s decisions about agency business and institutional policy in key areas including, not necessarily limited to, advocacy positions, procurement, and program content are under the purview of the JASA Board of Trustees and staff.

In the spirit of transparency, JASA will post this Policy publicly via our website so that it is accessible internally and externally.

JASA reserves the right to return any contribution for any reason.

Recognition and Acknowledgment

JASA will respect the intent of the donor relating to gifts for restricted purposes and/or the desire to remain anonymous. With respect to anonymous gifts, unless required to disclose under the law or by a government agency, JASA will restrict information about the donor to only those staff members or third-party agents working for JASA with a need to know, and to members of the Board of Trustees.

JASA will proudly recognize our donors as appropriate unless the donor prefers to remain anonymous. This includes, but is not necessarily limited to acknowledgements:

at events (such as meetings and conferences) and on products (such as publications or facilities) that the donor has supported; and

in JASA’s Annual Report and other agency material.

JASA will provide acknowledgments to donors meeting IRS substantiation requirements for property received by the charity as a gift. However, except for gifts of cash and publicly traded securities, JASA is not obligated to record, state, or substantiate the monetary value of the gift and no value shall be ascribed to any receipt of any property other than cash, cash equivalents or publicly traded securities.

Implementation

Gifts generally accepted without review include, but are not necessarily limited to:

Cash or cash equivalents. Cash gifts are acceptable in any form, including by check, money order, credit card, or online. Donors wishing to make a gift by credit card must provide the card type (e.g., Visa, MasterCard, American Express), card number, expiration date, and name of the card holder as it appears on the credit card. Money market accounts or CDs are also readily accepted.

Marketable Securities. Marketable securities may be transferred electronically to an account maintained at one or more brokerage firms or delivered physically with the transferor's endorsement or signed stock power (with appropriate signature guarantees) attached. In some cases marketable securities may be restricted, for example, under applicable securities laws or the terms of the proposed gift; in such instances the decision whether to accept the restricted securities shall be made by the Finance Committee or Sub-Committee on Investments.

Bequests and Beneficiary Designations under Revocable Trusts, Life Insurance Policies, Commercial Annuities and Retirement Plans. Donors are encouraged to make bequests to JASA under their wills and/or revocable trusts, and to name JASA as the beneficiary under trusts, life insurance policies, commercial annuities and retirement plans.

Charitable Lead Trusts. JASA will accept designation as an income beneficiary of charitable lead trusts.

Certain forms of gifts or donated properties may be subject to review prior to acceptance. Examples include, but are not necessarily limited to:

Tangible Personal Property. JASA shall review and determine whether to accept any gifts of tangible personal property in light of the following questions:

Does the property further the organization’s mission?

Is the property marketable?

Are there any unacceptable restrictions imposed on the property?

Are there any carrying costs for the property for which the organization may be responsible?

Is the title/provenance of the property clear?

Life Insurance. JASA will accept gifts of life insurance where JASA is named as both beneficiary and irrevocable owner of the insurance policy. The donor must bear the responsibility of timely payment of any premiums due on the policy or preparing the premiums in full.

Real Estate. All gifts of real estate are subject to review by the Executive Committee. Prior to acceptance of any gift of real estate other than a personal residence, JASA shall require an initial environmental review by a qualified environmental firm. In the event that the initial review reveals a potential problem, the organization may retain a qualified environmental firm to conduct an environmental audit. Criteria for acceptance of gifts of real estate include, but are not necessarily limited to:

Is the property useful for the organization’s purposes?

Is the property marketable?

Are there covenants, conditions, restrictions, reservations, easements, encumbrances or other limitations associated with the property? If so, how do said encumbrances factor into the review of the marketability of the subject property?

Are there carrying costs (including insurance, property taxes, mortgages, liens, notes, or the like) or maintenance expenses associated with the property?

Does the environmental review or audit reflect that the property is damaged or otherwise requires remediation?

JASA will seek the advice of legal counsel in matters relating to acceptance of gifts when appropriate. Review by counsel is recommended in situations including, not necessarily limited to, the following:

gifts of securities that are subject to restrictions or buy-sell agreements;

documents naming JASA as trustee or requiring JASA to act in any fiduciary capacity;

gifts requiring JASA to assume financial or other obligations;

transactions that pose potential conflicts of interest; or

gifts of property which may be subject to environmental or other regulatory restrictions.

JASA will not accept gifts that

conflict with internal or external policies or regulatory requirements;

are too difficult or too expensive to administer in relation to their value;

require us to market, promote, or take a position on a product or service, whether for profit or not, as a prerequisite of receiving the contribution;

result in any unacceptable consequences for JASA; or

inherently promote purposes outside JASA’s mission.

Assessment of a gift or potential gift under the criteria described in this Policy, and determinations about whether a gift should be accepted or refused, can be made by staff with assistance from legal and/or financial experts or others as needed. When appropriate, such as when recommended by a staff or board member, such assessment and determinations will be made by the Board of Trustees or by a designee such as the Development Committee or other standing committee.

Adoption

This Policy was adopted, and is considered effective, by the JASA Board of Trustees on September 28, 2016. It can be amended by the Board of Trustees, or a designee such as the Development Committee, as needed.